Herein, a wireless “mesh” network is comprised of 802.11 access points (APs) that are inter-connected by wireless “backhaul” radio links in a tree topology. An AP may contain 1 or more backhaul radios. The radio channel used for each AP is partially restricted by the underlying tree topology. If a child AP has a single backhaul radio, then it attaches to the spanning tree and extends the spanning tree on the same radio channel. If a parent AP changes its backhaul radio channel, for example, a child AP follows it to the new channel. If an AP has multiple backhaul radios, then a child AP can attach to its parent on a 1st radio channel and extend the spanning tree on a 2nd radio channel.